CIAC (company)

The Colombian Aeronautical Industry Corporation (CIAC) is a state-owned aerospace company that designs aircraft. Founded on May 9, 1956, it originally operated independently before being taken over by Colombia’s Ministry of National Defense in 1966. CIAC provides engineering, design, development, and testing services, along with manufacturing subcontracts and maintenance and overhaul for both aircraft and engines. Its facilities include hangars at Bogotá’s El Dorado International Airport and at Major Justino Mariño Cuesto Air Base in Madrid, Cundinamarca, where it primarily supports the Colombian Aerospace Force. Together with Sikorsky-Colombia, CIAC runs Latin America’s only Black Hawk Flight Simulator Center at Tolemaida Air Base, used by Colombian military and police forces as well as the Brazilian Armed Forces for UH-60 Black Hawk training. Among its products is the CIAC T-90 Calima, a license-built Lancair Legacy for the Colombian Aerospace Force, and the UAVs ART Quimbaya and Coelum. CIAC also co-develops the SIRTAP unmanned aircraft system with Airbus Defence and Space, serves as a subcontractor for Embraer’s EMB 314 Super Tucano, operates as an authorized warranty and repair station for Honeywell, and supplies parts and flight simulator training for Sikorsky’s UH-60 Black Hawk. The SIRTAP, a high-performance ISR UAV in development since 2019, is expected to have its first flight in late 2025 and enter service with the Spanish Air and Space Force by 2026.